thanks for watching this edition of "360." "early start" begins now. three women missing for a decade found alive. police continue their investigation into a cleveland house of horrors. three suspects behind bars and now their families are speaking out. charles ramsey says he is no hero the neighbor who helped save the three kidnapped women will tell you how all of this went down and what is haunting him right now. >> new developments in the dilemma over what to do with the body of suspected boston marathon bomber as protesters line the streets in front of the funeral home that holds his remains. good morning.

welcome to this special edition of "early start." berman. i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland, ohio. it is wednesday, may 8th, 5:00 a.m. in the east we are waiting to find out this morning what kind of horror these three women endured during a decade of captivity in this home in seymour avenue on cleveland's west side. fbi agents have been combing through the house since the dramatic escape on monday. it's not yet clear what they have found inside. later today fbi agents will interview pedro castro for the first time. and amanda berry's whose chilling 911 call, which brought an ending to this ordeal.

>> hello? >> amanda? >> yeah, grandma. >> how are you? >> i'm fine. >> glad to have you back. >> it's good to be back. >> i thought you were gone. >> nope, i'm here. >> we're happy down here for you. >> thank you so much. i miss everybody. i love you guys so much. >> the little girl is your baby? >> yes, that's my daughter. >> i thought about you all this time. i never forgot you. >> oh, my gosh. >> and now to the investigation. a lot of questions this morning about what went on inside this home for the last ten years. martin savage is live where the suspects are being held what we want to know is are we going to be seeing charges today in connection to this? >> good morning, zoraida. the three brothers who stand in

custody behind us this is a joint investigation, it's federal and local. the fbi is saying that normally it would be about 36 hours they were anticipating charges could be a little bit longer due to the special nature of this investigation. if the charges come today, it is likely it will happen in the building behind us here. it's also anticipated more interrogations of those three brothers will take place. the focus now still on that home. and fan fbi forensic team is going through it. >> investigators scour the home on seymour avenue searching for evidence. throughout the day and late into the night, fbi agents search removing the front did oor, searching the crawl space, carting away a red pickup and a jeep. at one point they brought in a cadaver dog. the fbi taking the lead in the search. >> this is just the tip of the

iceberg this investigation will take a very long time. >> the three suspects, 52-year-old ariel brothers pedro and o'neill behind bars. they will face more interrogation today. in the neighborhood, residents are still celebrating the jubilance tempered with shock and disbelief. >> unreal. >> i know who lived there. they panned the cram to his house. i turned white. my wife said are you okay? >> away from the cameras, the three women who endured a decade of captivity trying to piece their shattered lives back together. >> this is a miracle. a very, very large miracle. we're all excited. >> reporter: and in tennessee -- amanda berry's grandmother got a very important phone call from the granddaughter she hasn't seen in years.

>> hello? >> amanda? >> yeah, grandma. >> reporter: a giant step in trying to close the door on this house of horrors. >> at that moment is when the lights went out here. as far as the interrogation of the three men, i was asking how exactly or who will conduct it, it's a combination of fbi and also the local sex crimes unit. as we adjust the lights here. and the reason is that gives you an indication of where the investigation may be going. if it's a local sex crimes unit, they are looking at these women as possibly being held for that time as sex slaves. zoraida, back to you. >> martin savage reporting live for us, thank dishwasher is

being called a hero. he's become a viral video store for his colorful description of everything that happened. in an exclusive interview, ramsey tells anderson cooper he's had a hard time sleeping after helping to set captives free. >> what does it feel like to have been living next to this for a year? >> see, that's why now i'm having trouble sleep. see, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. do you understand what i'm saying? >> um-hmm. >> so now that that's going on, and i could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing. >> so we'll hear more of what charles ramsey had to say to anderson cooper. that's coming up at the bottom of the hour. >> and jaycee dugard who herself

was held captive for a year says the women can't let that experience define them. dugard was 11 years old back in 1991 when phillip garrido and his wife nancy shocked her with a stun gun and held her captive for years in antioch, california. she accepted an award last ni t night. >> thank you for tonight and i want to say what an amazing time to be talking about hope with everything that's happening. >> dugard also says the women rescued in cleveland need the opportunity to heal and connect back into the world. and, john, i have to tell you, i had an opportunity to speak with michele's family yesterday, they are going through this healing process. but they are so overjoyed that this girl has reappeared. they said for a while they had

no idea she had been kidnapped. they thought she had gone to live with somebody else. all of these developments, as they were happening, all they're looking forward to is bringing her back home. >> the mixture of emotions in cleveland has to be overwhelming. thank you. we'll come back to you. new this morning, a southwest airlines flight diverted because of several unruly passengers on board. the flight took off from orlando, florida, it was headed to providence, rhode island, but late last night it diverted to charleston international airport. three passengers were disruption, unruly and failed to follow instructions from the flight custody. also three people were killed when a container ship rammed a control power in jital. there's fear that some people are trapped inside the elevator of the control tower. that tower is huge. it stands 160 feet tall and was

just destroyed by the impact. no word on what caused the injuries or the ship to crash. we're following new developments in the boston marathon bombings. the dilemma over what to do with the remains of tamsarnaev. tsarnaev's uncle is asking the government to mind a solution. >> reporter: good morning. we could learn within hours what the solution is. the problem is it may fall short of what many in boston would like. the body of tsarnaev is still at this resting home. police are trying to broker a way out, meeting with the funeral director and tsarnaev's uncle. but it's clear there is no simple solution in sight. >> i don't think he will

specifically target massachuset massachusetts. i think he's trying to reach out to anybody or anywhere. >> reporter: the mayor of boston vows tsarnaev won't be buried in his city. >> it's not dignified to put him in boston. he's not from boston. he's from somewhere else. >> reporter: tsarnaev's uncle knows his family would like his remains returned to russia, but it's unclear if russia would accept his body for burial. the bizarre set of circumstances surrounding the remains has been hurtful to some. the family of britney luring says they are trying to concentrate and put things together in their lives. for brittanya difficult road ahead, rehabilitation, how to pay for medical bills. they say that's where the attention should be, on the victims. >> to hear that people are trying to block his remains from

being buried, i have mixed feelings about it. i try not to think about it, though. it's not anything that my energy is going to help. >> such an absurd situation for the family and victims to deal with. we have reached out to tsarnaev's family many russia. still no word from them. we still know that option is they want his body returned to russia. >> paula newton, thanks to you. amanda knox labeled seductress, a devil. last night, chris cuomo asked about kercher's loved ones and their need for justice.

>> the bottom line is if they want a retrial what does it mean about how they feel about you? >> means they think i'm guilty. and i know this. they are grieving the loss of their family member. they deserve to have every answer. the idea that someone knows what happened and isn't saying anything and isn't being held responsible is maddening. i understand that. but it's not -- i'm not responsible for what happened. i didn't do it. i wasn't there. i don't know anything more about it. >> knox says the prospect of going back to italy to face trial again cripples her are fear. a political resurrection is

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great things can happen. so start a conversation with an advisor who's fully invested in you. wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. welcome back to "early start." it's a spectacular political comeback. former south carolina governor mark sanford wa, once so badly tarnished by an affair that few thought he would recover from is now headed back to congress. jim acosta breaks down his big win. >> some guy came up to me the other day and he said you look a lot like lazarus. >> reporter: once left for dead in the political wilderness, mark sanford blazed a comeback trail that will take him all the way to washington. i just want to acknowledge a -- a god not just of second chances, but third, fourth,

fifth, sixth, chances. >> reporter: sanford captured a vacant congressional seat by a decisive margin. the extramarital affair fromwit mistress from argentina while claiming to be on the appalachian trail may finally be behind them. >> is this redemption? >> we'll see. it's less about that than trying to make a second chance in washington, d.c. >> reporter: if sanford's life has at times seemed like a trashy romance novel, this latest chapter has been a page turner. for some voters all was forgiven. >> ye who is without sin cast the first stone. >> reporter: others not so much. are you tired of him? >> i don't like him. don't trust him. >> reporter: it wasn't enough to

help sanford's opponent, elizabeth colbert bush in this conservative district. >> i will continue to fight for all of you in south carolina. >> thank you as well for being here. >> reporter: as for sanford, his perm life is also on the mend. his mistress is now his fiance. a chapter she's keeping private for now. >> thank you so much for everything. it's his night. so i hope you understand. >> people will want to know, can we trust this guy? is he going to let us down? >> you asked that question before. you're coming back with the same question. i give you the same answer which is that -- that trust is ultimately earned. >> reporter: sanford could be sworn in as early as this week, but one top operative says he should be placed on the house foreign affairs committee. but sanford is getting the last laugh -- he won.

jim acosta, cnn, mt. pleasant, south carolina. 18 minutes after the hour right now. other top stories, delaware has joined the growing list of states approving same-sex marriage. the democratic governor signed the measure into law after the state senate approved it in a 12-9 vote. gay rights activists hailed the law's passage saying it shows momentum for marriage equality laws across the nation. as things heat up in michael jackson's wrongful death trial, a stunning new court filing. allegations of child sex abuse from a dancer choreographer who defended jackson during a 2005 child molestation trial. wayne robson, now 25, is asking for permission to file a late claim against the dead singer's estate. details of the allegation are sealed. the judge in the trial of

james holmes says holmes must show good cause to change his not guilty plea. yesterday defense attorneys notified the court of plans to change the plea do not guilty by reason of insanity. they will make their case before the judge next monday. coming up, a record day on wall street. the dow closes above 15,000 for the first time ever should that rally make you optimistic about the economy? details what when we come back. he's on geico.com setting up an appointment with an adjuster. ted is now on hold with his insurance company. maxwell is not and just confirmed a 5:30 time for tuesday. ted, is still waiting. yes! maxwell is out and about... with ted's now ex-girlfriend. wheeeee! whoo! later ted! online claims appointments. just a click away on geico.com.

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welcome back. we are minding your business this morning. it looks good the dow closes above 15,000 for the first time ever. christine romans is here to talk about this. the big question, it's a big round number. what is the real significance behind it? >> these are always psychological milestones, this is a big one, in part because this is the fastest start to the year in any bull market since the 1999 tech boom. your investments in your 401(k) are based on the s&p 500, the broader market, it's up big as well. let's not talk about 15,000, let's talk about what we've done here. the dow is up almost 15% for the year, that's more than it gained all of last year. nasdaq up 12.5%. the s&p 500, the stock portion of your portfolio, likely reflects the s&p 500 is up 14%. those are your major gains for an entire year, it's only may. let me show you the rally in terms of real money. if you invested 2,500 bucks in

january of this year. if you bought in a fund that tracked the dow, it would be worth 2,872. the nasdaq, 2,812, and 2,850 for the s&p 500. you have had a very nice year. in the savings account, i saw a cd advertised for $10,000 for a half percent to hold your money for two years. that's why people are in the stock market. the price of your home likely hasn't gone up by very much over the past few years, you're not getting a 15%, or 20% raise at work, that's why people are telling me they're not feeling this rally overall, but investors say it's the only place to try to get in and make some money in the economy. do you think you're a sucker if you right now buy stocks? >> is it a good time? >> by one measure, the stock still has some rallying to do. by this measure, the pe ratio is

15. look at '90s bull market. if you follow pe ratios, that's telling you the market doesn't feel rich quite yet. as for today, investors seem to be taking a break. futures down slightly right now. i think you will see some jagged action as we look for clues about what the economy is doing. investors keep plugging away in here. they say the fed is keeping interest interests rates low, the economy is healing. >> quite a run. >> sure is. >> thank you very much. ahead on "early start," he's being called a hero by many. he is going viral online. more of anderson cooper's exclusive interview with a neighbor who helped save those three women hell captive in cleveland. plus a plea from dennis rodman to his buddies in north korea. [ male announcer ] from the way the bristles move to the way they clean,

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the plot thickens. shocking new details emerging in the cleveland triple kidnapping case. we are live on the scene with

the latest. the hero neighbor and now the internet sensation, charles ramsey, has one wish -- that he could have saved the throw women a lot sooner. and new evidence involved in the attack on bengahzi. house republicans say they will make this new evidence public today. welcome back to a special edition of "early start." i'm john berman. >> nice to see you, john. i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland, ohio. it's wednesday, may 8th. so many unanswered questions this morning about the three women who made that dramatic escape from captivity after a decade trapped inside a cleveland home. fbi agents have been going through every corner of that house. they managed to break out on monday. they're keeping quiet about what they're finding inside. so later today kidnapping suspects pedro, onil, and ariel castro will be interrogated by

federal agents for the first time since their arrest. the brothers could be formally charged by day's end. as we wait to find out what kind of horror these three women endured, neighbors are still shocked that the ordeal went on for so long and right under their noses. >> when they finally said it was the school bus driver, i knew who lived there, they panned the camera to his house it was like i turned white. my wife told me what's wrong? are you okay? i was dumfounded. i was -- i was in shock. i couldn't talk. my heart started beating really fast. i couldn't believe it. >> reporter: the castro brothers are being held now at the county justice center in cleveland. martin savage is there right now. so, martin, we want to know where the investigation stands at this house. the police department had said it would take about 48 hours for them to file charges. what's the status on that now? >> yeah. going by this clock, going by that gauge, we would anticipate

it's possible we would see charges by the end of the day today. authorities have been closed-mouthed on what kind of charges they would be. it's anticipated the charges would be against all three brothers. might be interesting to know will the charges be the same or will the charges kind of indicate that each of these brothers may have played a different role in this whole ordeal as it went on for the decade or more. we'll be watching for that. it's believed they're being held here at the justice center. they will be interrogated further today by local and federal officials, including members of the cleveland sex crimes unit that gives you an indication of the direction of this investigation. we're not just merely talking about women who were held hostage but it goes much deeper and unfortunately much worse than that. zoraida? >> now that the family and friends are beginning to speak out, martin, what more are we learning about the castro brothers? >> yeah. i had a chance to talk yesterday with the uncle.

and he describes that these brothers were troubled in a lot of ways. that's something you get from talking to neighbors as well. they claim two brothers had a drinking problem or had difficulties with alcohol. one of the other brothers was accused of spousal abuse, and that he apparently had been involved in a domestic fight with his wife. so, the image that appears to come out from these men is troubling to say the least. in fact, neighbors have also talked about what they were like and what was going on and they spoke to piers morgan last night. take a listen. >> and we look across the street and it's ariel, and he has a woman, she's naked, and she's just in the backyard, and my sister said something or he heard us, and like he like told her get down, get down, get in the house. and she was naked. he had, like, a mattress up. he was, like, trying to

disguise. but he didn't know we could still see over it. he made her crawl on her hands and knees to get into the back and he took her to the back, like, of the door. that's the last time we seen her. >> so, that's not just unusual, that's a red warning flag that something terrible is going on. neighbors say they reported stuff like that, but that the police didn't take it seriously. police records, they say, don't indicate they were called for thos those. >> martin savage reporting live for us, we'll check back in with you. last night i had an opportunity to speak with michele's family. it was interesting because they said -- they said what is it about the girls? why didn't they try to escape? maybe they were targeted. we do understand when they filed the police report about michele missing, that they told the police that she had some developmental disabilities, and she expressed their anger and frustration at the lack of involvement from the police at the time having that knowledge.

we'll bring you more about that interview later. so we've been telling but charles ramsey, right? he is, you know, being hailed as the hero. he's one of the cleveland neighbors who noticed amanda berry screaming for help. his actions have him being called a hero but he was surprised to find out what was allegedly going on right at his neighbor's house. >> i've been here a year. you know? i barbecued with this dude. we eat ribs and whatnot, listen to salsa music. you see where i'm coming from? >> you had no indication that anything was going on? >> not a clue that that girl was in that house. or anybody else against their will. >> last night anderson cooper spoke exclusively with charles ramsey. >> so you moved in about a year ago. >> yeah. >> you'd seen ariel castro around, right? >> when i moved here. he was my neighbor. >> what was he like? >> cool. he wasn't no freak of nature.

he was like me and you. he talked about the same thing you talk about. he would talk about you, you know what i mean? you know, regular stuff, bro. >> so yesterday, what happened? >> you gonna love this. i'm going to tell it all. around 3:00, i was on my porch. and the mailman put his mail in my mail. i looked at it and said i've got to give ariel his mail when he comes home. couple minutes later, he pulled up. he checked the mailbox, before he went in the house, i said ariel, here go your mail. we had the same conversation when i handed him the mail. he said they can't get it right. i said nope, damn postal service. that's it. he left. i jumped on my bike. went to mcdonald's. came back home. i'm in my house. but i'm in the living room and i'm right by the front door because i'm looking out the front door. and, man, this girl screamed

like a car had hit a kid. which made me, you know, you stop eating, what was that? so when i got up, i saw my neighbor across the street. he run across the street. i'm thinking where are you going? ain't nobody next door, i saw ariel leave. i know there ain't nobody over there. i heard that girl scream and saw him running across the street. i went outside and wondered what he was doing. amanda say i'm stuck in here, help get me out. so he -- he either don't know english that well or panicked. so he looked at me, and he's like it's a girl. that's all he did. here i kwame half-eaten big mac. and i look and i say what's up? and she like i've been trapped in here. he won't let me out. it's me and my baby. i said you ain't got to talk to more, i'm trying to get the door open and i can't. he torture chambered it some kind of way. locked it up. so i did what i had to do and kicked the bottom of the door and she crawled out of it.

she grabbed her baby, threw me off. all right. fine. i got some girl and her kid. >> what did she hook like? what was she wearing? >> a jump suit. she had a white tank top on. rings on, mascara. she was well groomed. she didn't look like she was kidnapped. that's what i'm saying. that's what threw me off. she's like i'm in here trapped. i'm like, well, you don't look kidnapped. maybe you got a boyfriend problem. but i'm thinking, i know who lives here. he's 50 something. you can't be the boyfriend problem. can't be him. maybe you're dating his son. >> and you had never seen her before. >> bro, that man, listen. never. that woman didn't come out the house. the only kids that came out the house were two little girls. they played in the backyard. he had two dogs. and where i live, naturally, is next door. my bedroom was upstairs.

i hear kids playing, i know it's them. they did the same thing, play in the backyard for a couple hours, go back in the house. same thing every day. the neighborhood knows them as his grandchildren. so, no big deal. he has his grand kids over all the time. i thought. >> amanda berry then, what? asked to call 911? >> um-hmm. and i took her into my house. now, i'm nervous as hell. so i'm fumbling with my phone. so i finally did it right. she can't wait. i don't blame her. so what i do is tell her go a i cross the street and use their phone. now we're both calling 911. she gets through. i get through. she dealt with a moron, me, too. >> what do you mean about a moron? i heard the 911 call from her. the woman was hang up and wait for the police. >> really. how about stay on and i'll talk to you until they get there. >> right.

>> we'll hear much more of anderson cooper's exclusive interview with charles ramsey. it's coming up in the next hour on "early start." i have to tell you, john, that's one incredible storyteller. incredibly animated. it's hard to believe that he does not consider himself a hero. >> he sure has one heck of a story to tell. he is telling it in quite a colorful way. all right. thanks, zoraida. friends and family saying good-bye to 8year-old leila fowler, an overflow crowd turned out for her funeral yesterday. this as the search for her killer continues. yesterday police dive teams went searching for clues in a pair of ponds near the girl's home. the california couple who called police after being held hostage by rogue cop christopher dorner will get most of the $1 million reward. dorner died in a standoff with police hours after jim and carol

reynolds said their car was stolen by him. the reynolds will get $800,000. daniel mcgowan, he will get $150,000. 50,000 will go to the man who spotted dorner on february 7th and informed police. that man's name is mr. mcdaniel. dennis rodman calling on north korean leader kim jong-un to release u.s. citizen kenneth bay. bay has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. rodman who visited north korea in february and calls kim a friend for life tweeted i'm calling on the supreme leader of new york, or as i call him, kim, to do me a solid and cut kenneth bae loose. that, again from dennis rodman. so you won't have those loops on your money after all thanks to a new look for freshry secretary jack lu's signature. his handwrite hag changed from

the loopy set of unrecognizable scribbling on the right to the more legible signature on the left. it is not clear whether the change comes because lew's signature is about to be printed on the u.s. currency. i think it is a good bet he changed it for that reason also because president obama made fun of him for it. timothy geithner also had a similar change in signature. new this morning, the man who may be the most well-known coach in the country is retiring. sir alex ferguson of manchester united is stepping down after a quarter scentury. he is 71 years old. he coached man u. since 1986 and during that time he won more than 30 trophies, including 13 league championships. this is giant news in the sports world overnight. ahead on "early start," some republicans say they have new evidence of a coverup in the

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welcome back. house republicans say they have new evidence of a coverup on the attack in bengahzi which they will reveal in a hearing later this morning. democrats say the revolution will be one-sided. democrats say they have not been allowed to talk to one of the gop's witnesses. here is dana bash. >> reporter: witnesses will reveal new information about mistakes before, during and after the bengahzi attacks and bolster claims of an obama administration cover up. a star gop witness is gregory hicks. hicks will say administration officials new from the start that the attack was not what they publicly suggested, a

spontaneous demonstration. i think everybody in the mission thought it was a terrorist attacked from the beginning, hicks told investigators. that goes to the heart of a central republican question about those infamous administration talking points about the attack. who stripped out references to al qaeda and why? republicans call it a political decision. a fear of stepping on the president's campaign message that he crippled al qaeda. >> we wanted to find out who made this decision. >> reporter: then there is the military response. hicks will say military personnel were ready to board a libyan plane to bengahzi to help americans under fire there but were ordered by superiors not to go. >> they may not have arrived in time to save lives, but at the time the decision was made, the decision was wrong. >> reporter: who made that decision? >> we want to find out who made this decision. >> reporter: democrats warn it will be a partisan show. >> we have been iced out. >> reporter: the committee's top

democrat complains republicans won't let them talk to one of the witnesses, a counter terrorism official. >> everything that i've seen so far with regard to this investigation shows me that it's a one-sided investigation. and it leaves me sad. >> reporter: the committee's top democrat insists he, too, is interested in getting answers to what happened and why in bengahzi, but the partisan way republicans are handling it "makes the work product of the committee questionable." a gop source countered if democrats were so hungry for the facts they would have joined republicans in pressing the state department to hand over documents and key information that congress is having trouble getting. dana bash, cnn, washington. an ominous sign from syria overnight. the internet is down throughout that war-torn country and it's not clear i would. the syrian government has shut down the internet in the past and has used it extensively to track the opposition. singer tim lambasis is under

arrest charged with trying to hire a hit man to hurter his wife. his wife megan filed papers to dissolve their marriage last september. he is the $96 million man in the nfl, but buffalo bills star mario williams is concerned about $785,000 in particular. that is how much he paid for a 10 karcarat diamond engagement ring. that's a big ring. williams claims she never wanted to get married and only used him for his money. coming up, a stunning line drive this picture is awful. it sends a major league pitcher to the hospital. we will give you an update on his condition when we come back. want younger looking eyes that say wow? with olay, here's how. new regenerist eye and lash duo. the cream smooths the look of lids... softens the look of lines. the serum instantly thickens the look of lashes. see wow! eyes in just one week

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welcome back. i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland. charles ramsey is being called a hero after helping to rescue the three women and a little girl who had been held captive for years. ramsey tells cnn's anderson cooper what happened when he heard amanda berry's cries for help. >> i'm trying to get the door open and can't. because it's -- he done torture chambered it some kind of way. i did what i had to do. kicked the bottom of the door. she crawled out of it. she threw me off. fine, i got some girl and her kid. >> we'll hear much more of what charles ramsey had to say to anderson cooper coming up in the next hour. john, i will go back to you. i will also talk later -- we'll have a bit of the interview i did with michele knight's family and her brother in particular,

freddy, who talks about seeing her for the first time in the hospital. how he was overcome with emotion and how different she looks from when he last saw her. he said she used to be a pudgy gone, she's lost a lot of weight and she's traumatized after this ordeal. he says she is still in the hospital and will remain there for a while. john? >> thanks, zoraida, the emotion must simply be overwhelming. your other top stories, still no solution this morning to the problem of what to do with the remains of boston bomber tamerlan tsarnaev. no cemetery in massachusetts has offered to accept his body for burial. tsarna tsarnaev's uncle is asking the government to intervene to find a final resting place. delaware, the 11th state to approve same-sex marriage. the governor signed the measure into law after the senate approved it in a 12-9 vote. gar rights activists hailed the motion.

a simply awful seen last night at tropicana field. pitcher j.a. happ struck in the head by a line drive in the second inning of the game against the tampa bay rays. happ was taken off the field in a stretcher. he was conscious and transported to a local hospital. he is said to be in stable condition this morning. coming up, as if tom brady doesn't make enough money, he's just won some more. life getting even more perfect for the world's most perfect man. it's trending coming up next. h. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at ducktherapy.com.

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welcome back to "early start." trending online this morning, america's love affair with bacon is well documented and justified, but who knew it could be the key to long life. a 105-year-old woman in texas says bacon is the reason she's lived so long. she says she eats bacon every day and that bacon is the reason why she feels like she's 95.

the folks at oscar mayer found her obsession and sent a box to her home and gave her a ride in the weinermobile. more proof that tom brady is, in fact, perfected. the new england patriots quarterback won $25,000 this past weekend betting on the kentucky derby. brady reportedly put down $4,700 on orb to win. the return was $25,000. so, just for the record here, tom brady has three super bowl rings, a supermodel wife and now a skilled handicapper, too. man. to check out other top cnn trends go to cnn.com/trends. "early start" continues live from cleveland, ohio right now. three suspects behind bars as police continue their investigation into a cleveland house of horrors that kept three women captive for a decade.

the victim's families are speaking out. charles ram say says he is no hero the man who helped save the three kidnapped women, we'll tell you how all of it went down and there is still something haunting him right now. >> wichb of the suspected boston marathon bombers has been taken. was no one willing to accept the body for burial, the uncle of tsarnaev is asking the government to help find a solution. good morning. welcome to early start everyone, i'm john berman in new york. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland, ohio. a lot going on here so let's get started. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east now and we have shocking new information coming to light after three women were found alive in a cleveland home a decade after vanishing without a trace. we still don't know what kind of living hell three women endured during a decade in captivity inside the home right behind me on seymour avenue. fbi agents have been combing

through the house on cleveland's west side ever since amanda berry, gina dejesus and michele knight's dramatic escape on monday. they're not revealing what they found inside the home yet. so today for the first time, fbi agents will interview kidnapping suspect pedro, onil and ariel castro. the brothers could be criminally charged today. and amanda berry whose desperate 911 call brought an end to this incredible nightmare getting the chance to reconnect by telephone with her grandmother and other family members who live in tennessee. >> hello. >> amanda. >> yeah, grandma. >> how are you? i'm glad to have you back. i thought you were gone. >> nope, i'm here. >> i'm here for you. >> thank you so much. >> the little girl is your baby? >> yeah, she's my daughter.

born at christmas. >> i thought about you all this time. i never forgot you. >> oh, my goodness. that is so wonderful to watch. some happiness there. now to the latest on the kidnapping investigation. a lot of questions this morning about what went on inside ariel castro's home for the last ten years. martin savidge is live from the county justice center where the castro brothers are being held. what are you finding out, martin? >> good morning, zoraida. i've been warned by authorities. i grew up in this town so i know a lot of police here and they've been saying, look, we're still gathering the information. but when it comes out, as it comes out it is going to be really pretty horrifying stuff so they're bracing people for that. but still knowing and hearing about that reunion, great stuff. so the investigation. it's focused on two fronts, really. on the suspects themselves, the three brothers being held behind me here and investigators as you point out both federal and local talking to them today, and then the house. that also is key.

investigators scour the home on seymour avenue, searching for evidence in this house of horrors. throughout the day and late into the night, fbi agents meticulously search. removing the front door. searching the crawl space. carting away a red pickup and a jeep. at one point bringing in a cadaver dog. it's not known what, if anything, the dog found. the fbi taking the lead in the search. >> this is just the tip of the iceberg, these investigation will take a very long time. >> reporter: the three suspects, 52-year-old ariel castro, his brothers pedro and onil, behind bars. they'll face more interrogation today. authorities have 48 hours to file charges. and that window closes later tonight. in the neighborhood, residents are still celebrating the jubilance tempered with shock and disbelief. >> unreal. and i know who lived there and they brought cameras to his house it was like i turned white. my wife told me, what's wrong,

are you okay? i was like, i was dumbfounded. >> reporter: away from the cameras amanda berry, gina dejesus and michele knight, the three women who endured a decade of captivity trying to piece their shattered lives back together. >> this is a miracle. a very, very large miracle, and we're all excited. >> reporter: and in tennessee, amanda berry's grandmother got a very important phone call from the granddaughter she hasn't seen in years. >> hello? >> amanda. >> yeah, grandma. >> how are you? >> reporter: a giant step to try to close the door on this house of horrors. i just love that phone call. very moving to hear that. you know, and again getting back to this, the investigators are saying in the coming days it's going to be really troubling stuff that comes out. the focus should always be remembering, this were three of them, miracles, that occurred. zoraida? >> you're absolutely right. when you get back to that phone

call, that grandmother who is going to be reunited with her granddaughter also has a great granddaughter now. that's a bit of good news for her, also. the family and friends of the suspects are beginning to talk. so what more have we learned about the castro brothers? >> i look forward now from talking with family members i talked extensively with the uncle. he describes two of the brothers have problems with alcohol, drinking, growing up, and then on top of that a third brother had issues of domestic spousal abuse. so clearly that is not good. neighbors talk about problems that they have heard within the family of these three brothers and what's gone on in the home. you're getting a troubled group of brothers that are being depicted by both family and friends. >> i know that some of the neighbors have also shared some stories, some things that they saw, and that they feel that police really never dealt with. what can you tell us about that? >> and there's resentment on that, too, zoraida, because they feel that their neighborhood in particular, being the fact that

it's run down and maybe not the best, that they feel authorities just don't take them seriously there. but neighbors have reported incidents in case -- one case where a woman was seen allegedly naked in the backyard and another case where a woman was seen apparently in the attic. she appeared to be handcuffed and holding a child and pleading for help. the neighbors say they reported these instances, police did show up, they knocked on the door, when they didn't get any response, they simply left. >> you know, martin, yesterday i talked to michele knight's brother freddy, and he was really angry. because he says, you know, here she was living just blocks from where we are for so many years, and the police department never found her. so there is a lot of anger and resentment as you mentioned. i know that you're going to be talking about that dispatch phone call. they've actually released a statement now about how they handle that so we're looking forward to that in our next half an hour. martin savidge reporting live. thank you. and cleveland dishwasher charles ramsey is being hailed as a hero for his role in

rescuing three women, and that little girl, who had been held captive for years. he's also become a viral video star for his very colorful description of everything that happened. in an exclusive interview, ramsey tells cnn's anderson cooper that he has had a hard time getting much sleep since he freed amanda berry. >> what does it feel like to have been living next to this for a year? >> see, that's why now i'm having trouble sleeping. see, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. you hear what i'm saying? >> mm-hmm. >> so now that that's going on, and i could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing. >> and we will hear much more of what charles ramsey had to say to anderson cooper at the bottom of the hour. and we'll also have much

more from anderson cooper's exclusive interview with charles amry -- i'm sorry, i just told you that. that's coming up at the bottom of the hour for you. michele knight was 21 years old in august of 2002 when she was reported missing. as i mentioned i had the chance to sit down with members of knight's family to get their reaction to the news that she had been found alive. her brother freddy knight says when he heard michele was found he rushed to the hospital where they were finally reunited. freddy says he didn't know what had happened to michele. >> i did not know my sister was kidnapped. i did not know that. >> how did you not know she was kidnapped? >> my mom never tells me anything. and my mom -- my mother doesn't tell me anything. she wouldn't tell me who my dad was. when i asked, i'm going to help my sister out as much as she can when she gets out of the hospital, i want to help her. i'm going to show her places that she doesn't remember, you know, relearn how to use a computer. i'm going to show her how to do that and stuff like that. take her places. you know.

>> we're going to hear more of my interview with michele knight's family coming up also for you in the next hour on "starting point." i have to tell you, john, when i sat with this family i was stunned to hear that a lot of them had no idea that she had been kidnapped. and they actually refute some of the reports when the mother said that she went around the neighborhood, canvassing the neighborhood and putting up all of these posters, they say yes, that for a week afterwards she went around through the neighborhood, but that she never put any posters in any of the neighborhoods. they had a lot to say. so i'm looking forward to sharing that with you. >> thanks, zoraida. kind of a puzzling development right there. other news this morning, new this morning, a southwest airlines flight diverted overnight because of several unruly passengers on board. the flight took off from orlando, florida, and was headed to providence, rhode island but late last night it diverted to charleston, international airport. three passengers, we are told, were disruptive, unruly and failed to follow instructions from the flight crew. they are now in fbi custody. the plane did go on to land in providence without any problems.

also new this morning, at least three people killed when a container ship ran the control tower in genoa, italy. seven people are reported missing. rescue crews on the scene searching the water for these people. there is fear that some may be trapped inside the elevator of the control tower. that tower, it is huge, standing 160 feet tall, and it was really just destroyed by the impact. you can see it leaning over right there. no word on what caused the ship to crash. we're also following new developments in the boston marathon bombings this morning. no solution yet to the problem of what to do with the remains of tamerlan tsarnaev. protesters continue to demonstrate outside the funeral home where that body has been taken. tsarnaev's uncle is even asking the government to help find a solution to this mess. cnn's paula newton is live in boston this morning. good morning, paula. >> and good morning, john. we could learn in the next few hours that there is a solution to this. the funeral home did tell us that they do expect this to be resolved soon.

unclear yet, though, about whether the preferred solution for people in this city, the fact that tamerlan tsarnaev's remains be sent back to russia, is a possibility. the body of tamerlan tsarnaev is still at this funeral home. his resting place has been so contentious, worcester police are now trying to broker a way out, meeting with the funeral director and tsarnaev's uncle. but it's clear, there is no simple solution in sight. >> i don't think he's going to specifically target massachusetts. i think he's just trying to reach out to anybody or anywhere. >> reporter: the mayor of boston vows tsarnaev won't be buried in his city. >> it's not dignified to put him in boston. he's not from boston, he's from someplace else and he needs to go back to his roamland. >> ruslan sarney knows his family would like his nephew's remains returned to russia. it's unclear if russia would

accept his body for burial. and the bizarre set of circumstances involving tsarnaev's remains has been hurtful to some. the family of brittany loring says they are trying to put the whole thing out of their minds, concentrating instead on their sister and daughter, a bombing victim trying to recover from leg injuries, and a skull fracture. for brittany, a difficult road ahead. rehabilitation, how to pay for medical bills. they say that's where the attention should be, on the victims. >> to hear that people are trying to block his remains from being buried, i have mixed feelings about it. i try not to think about it, though, because it's not -- it's not anything that my energy is going to help. >> you can imagine how much this very absurd situation is hurting the victims and their families. just having to talk about it. john, we did try and reach out to the parents of tamerlan tsarnaev in russia. so far they have been unresponsive, but they are on the record telling us that they do want his remains sent back

there for burial. john? >> paul what, the bright side of this story, the one fund in boston has raised simply an enormous amount of money for the victims and their families of this tragedy and we're getting word now on how that money may be distributed? >> yeah. you know, that fund is $28 million and counting. a big concert here sold out in minutes that will go may 30th, that will raise a lot more money. we were in a town hall meeting just behind me at the boston library, ken feinberg who is trying to put together who gets what when, he called it rough justice, john. when you're in those town hall meetings you're hearing, look, we will put this amount of money towards people who lost one limb. people who lost two limbs. there are a lot of questions about how this money will be disbursed. i can tell you from speaking to the victims and their family they want everyone included in the compensation, and that seems to be their bottom line. >> it is a difficult conversation to have, nonetheless. paula newton live in boston for us this morning. thanks so much, paula. 13 minutes after the hour.

house republicans say they have new evidence of a cover-up in the deadly attack in benghazi and they are going to reveal that evidence in a hearing later this morning. they say three whistleblowers plan to discuss what they believe were security failures at the compound during the attack. democrats say the revelation will be one-sided. they say they haven't been allowed to talk to one of the witnesses. also, former south carolina governor mark sanford comes back from the political abyss. the story of his big win coming up. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra hhonors points with the daily grand promotion and feel the hamptonality.

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welcome back to "early start" everyone. his reputation was badly tarnished by an affair and his disappearance to south america but this morning mark sanford is waking up to the results of a spectacular political comeback. the former south carolina governor is now headed back to congress. our national political correspondent jim acosta breaks down his big win. >> some guy came up to me the other day and said, you look a

lot like lazarus. >> reporter: once left for dead in the political wilderness, mark sanford blazed a comeback trail that will take him all the way to washington. >> i just want to acknowledge a -- a guy not just with second chances, but third, fourth, fifth, because that is the reality of our shared humanity. >> reporter: sanford captured a vacant south carolina congressional seat by a decisive margin, overcoming a scandal that nearly destroyed his political career. the extramarital affair with a mistress from argentina that he once falsely claimed was a hike on the appalachian trail, may finally be behind him. is this redemption? >> yeah, i think we're always on the search for redemption. i think that this certainly political redemption. we'll see where things go from here. it's less about that than it is about the second chance to make an impact in washington, d.c., where i think impact is desperately needed. >> reporter: if sanford's life has at times seemed like a

trashy romance novel this latest chapter has been a real page turner. for some voters all was forgiven. >> he who is without sin cast the first stone. >> reporter: others, not so much. >> i don't like him, i don't trust him, i don't respect him. >> reporter: but it wasn't enough to help san ford's opponent, elizabeth co colbert-busch, sister of stephen colbert, in this conservative district. >> i will continue to fight for all of you in south carolina. >> thank you as well for being here, love. appreciate it. >> reporter: as for sanford, his personal life is also on the mend. his mistress is now his fiancee. a chapter she's keeping private for now. >> thank you so much for everything. but it's his night. so i hope you understand. >> reporter: people are going to want to know, can we trust this guy? is he going to let us down? >> you asked that question before and you're coming back to the same question and i give you the same answer, which is that

the trust is -- >> reporter: sanford could be sworn in as early as this week but democrats are mocking his victory with one top operative saying he should be placed on the house foreign affairs committee. but it's sanford who's getting the last laugh. he won. jim acosta, cnn, mount pleasant, south carolina. >> and coming up at 7:30, we will speak live to the new congressman from south carolina, mark sanford. other top stories we're following this morning, as things heat up in michael jackson's wrongful death trial, a stunning new court filing. allegations of child sex abuse from a dancer/choreographer who defended jackson during the pop star's 2005 molestation trial. wade robson, who is now 30, is asking a los angeles judge for permission to file a late claim against the dead singer's estate. the details of this allegation are sealed. the judge in the trial of accor ra colorado movie theater shooting suspect james holmes

says holmes must now show good cause to change his not guilty plea. yesterday defense attorneys notified the court of plans to change holmes plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. they'll get to make their case before the judge next monday. we're talking huge news in the world of english premier league football, which is soccer to those of us in america. after 26 years and 13 premiere league champions sir alex ferguson is stepping down as manager of manchester united. man u. confirms the 71-year-old ferguson will leave his post following the club's final match of the season on may 19th. this is huge news in sports. the team kept it short and sweet, making the announcement on twitter saying simply, sir alex ferguson retires. thank you, sir alex. and coming up, she has made billions with her bottom lifting and smoothing undergarments. why the founder of spanx now says she is giving away half her money. ♪

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welcome back, everyone. we are "minding your business" this morning. so it is a number that investors have never seen at the closing bell. till yesterday. 15,000. that is where the dow closed tuesday. christine romans is here. going to see more gains like this? >> could. futures are a little bit lower this morning. didn't go straight up, didn't go straight down but that psychological 15,000 mark, you know, it's psychological, it's significant. but you look at the longer-term, this has been the swiftest start of the year to the great bull market of 1999. the dow is up 14.9%. the nasdaq up 12.5%. the s&p 500 up 14%. those are great returns. many people, of course, say oh, yeah the great bull market of 1999. remember how that worked out. it was a big bubble that popped. a lot of folks telling me they

don't feel bubbly yet. so we'll continue to watch here. stocks are rising but the deficit is falling. the constant source of political bickering in washington is plunging. the congressional budget office says tax collections are up 16% from november to april. why? because they're taking more money out of your paycheck. the payroll tax holiday ended and so you're putting more money into the government coffers. spending is down slightly, as well. some of that is the sequester, those forced spending cuts. spending in some categories is up like medicare, medicaid, social security. so no, john, that doesn't mean the end is over, the fight about money in the nation's capital. washington looking for money, this woman is giving her fortune away. that's right. her bottom line, so to speak. sarah blakeley is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world thanks to spanx. she invented it and has made a boatload of money off of making women feel slimmer. she's giving half her money away in the join the giving pledge started three years ago by bill

gates and warren buffett when really, really rich people give a whole lot of their money back, putting it all together so they can really do good. >> she's offering her support to a lot of causes, you might say. what's the one thing we need to know? >> mortgage rates in about half an hour and i'm going to be looking very closely to how low they can go. the fed trying to keep rates low. it's been working. last year the average 30-year fixed rate was 3.6%. that was the lowest rate since last year for that index. we'll see if it slipped a little bit more again and even if it didn't, it's still really excellent to refinance. >> wicked low. thank you so much. ahead on "early start," he is being called a hero. we're going to have more of anderson cooper's exclusive interview with the neighbor who helped save those three women held captive in cleveland. you will be amazed by what he has to say. why are twice as many people choosing verizon over any other carrier? many choose us because we have the largest 4glte network.

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ohio. where the unimaginable has happened. we have shocking new details emerging in the triple kidnapping case. here a neighbor and now an internet sensation charles ramsey has one wish, that he could have saved the three women a lot sooner. >> and a plea from dennis rodman to his buddies in north korea. let the american-held captive there go free. welcome back to a special edition of "early start," everyone, i'm john berman in new york. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland, ohio. it is wednesday, may 8th. it is 6:31 on the east coast. we have so many unanswered questions this morning about the three women who made a dramatic escape from captivity after a decade, trapped inside that cleveland home. fbi agents have been going through every corner of that house since amanda berry, gina dejesus and michele knight managed to break out on monday. they're keeping quiet about what they are actually finding inside.

later today, kidnapping suspect bed row, onil and ariel castro will be interrogated for the very first time since their arrest. and the brothers could be formally charged by day's end. and as we wait to find out what kind of horror these three women endured neighbors are still shocked that the ordeal went on for so long right under their noses. >> the closest i've ever came to his house was to the door, and he had it cracked open and he gave us popsicles. it was like a couple summers ago but that was it. he never let us go in his backyard. i think we went in his backyard once to help him put his little dogs away. but it wasn't even over his gate. it was like to his gate and that was it. >> the castro brothers are being held right now at the county justice center in cleveland, and that is where martin savidge is standing by. so when can we expect the charges to be filed? >> you know, initially authorities were saying

yesterday, would be about 36 hours. now they say that the judge has extended that slightly. clearly this is a complicated case, and looks like 48 hours. so it's possible, going by that time frame if you look at it, later today. later tonight. exactly what charges are going to be filed authorities have been keeping that very close to the vest. and it will also to be interesting to see if everybody is charged exactly the same way. that would give you some indication as to what their alleged role may have been in all of this. right now we are waiting for later in the day possibly for those charges to come down and waiting to see exactly what they are, zoraida. >> martin, what about the girls? how are they recovering this morning? >> yeah. well, as authorities say, they have a long way to go. and the fbi is primarily handling talking to them. and they have brought in very specialized people to do that. but as far as their family, how they are responding, it's not easy. i mean, you listen to that emotional phone call from amanda berry, take a listen, it tells a lot.

>> hello? >> amanda. >> yeah, grandma. >> how are you? >> i'm fine. >> i'm glad to have you back. >> i know. i'm glad to be back. >> i thought you were gone. >> nope, i'm here. >> i'm here for you. >> thank you so much. >> the little girl is your baby? >> yeah, she's my daughter. born on christmas. >> we got to get together soon. >> i know it. >> i have a little girl named christina and she wants to meet -- >> but i love you, honey. thank god. >> i love you, too. >> i thought about you all this time. i never forgot you. >> that is almost like emotional eavesdropping to listen to that. that's so telling. i mean, because what you realize is that this is a family who, to them, she was almost dead. not that they'd never given up on her but ten years she is out of sight. so much to be caught up on. she has a daughter now six years of age. beyond belief.

>> it's so wonderful, though, for her to be able to eavesdrop on that conversation and to have such a happy ending. i wanted to mention that michele knight, we had reported yesterday that she was out of the hospital. but i spoke to her brother freddy and he says she is still in the hospital. we're going to share more details of that conversation a little bit later. but there's another investigation that's happening right now. the 911 dispatcher who spoke with amanda berry is under review. there was a lot of criticism about how that call was handled. what can you tell us about that? >> right, there has been. the moment i got up here in cleveland, one of the first things people said, can you believe that 911 operator? now there is an official investigation that is under way. the city has made that known. we can show you, actually, the statement that was put out. there are a number of things that the city is reviewing and saying that there could be concerns about how that particular call was handled. most especially, one of the real concerns, the city points out, is that they -- the way it ended, you know, it should not

have ended as abruptly as it did. the operator shouldn't have let the person off the line. take a listen to that call. >> okay, talk to police when they get there. >> okay. hello? >> yeah, talk to the police when they get there. >> okay. we'll send them over as soon as they get a car open. >> no i need them now -- >> the police are on their way. >> okay. >> i told you they're on the way. talk to them when they get there. >> all right, okay. thank you. bye. >> that dispatcher now under review, and many in the public would say, yeah, deservedly so. zoraida? >> hopefully it will be used as a learning opportunity. martin savidge, thank you. appreciate it. let's head back to john berman. he is in new york. >> all right. thanks zoraida. it's about 36 minutes after the hour right now. a lot of other news. house republicans say this morning that they will unveil new evidence of a cover-up in the attack in benghazi. democrats say it's all one-sided because democrats say they have

not been able yet to talk to the republicans witnesses. here's dana bash. >> reporter: house republican sources insist their state department witnesses will reveal new information about the stakes before, during, and after september's deadly benghazi attack. and bolster gop claims of an obama administration cover-up. >> whistleblowers are courageous to come forward and they're essential in a case like this. >> reporter: a star gop witness is gregory hicks, the second ranking u.s. diplomat in libya he is time of the attack. hicks will say administration officials knew from the start the attack was not what they publicly suggested, spontaneous demonstrati demonstration. i think everybody in the mission thought it was a terrorist attack from the beginning, hicks told investigators. that goes to the heart of the central republican question about those infamous administration talking points about the attack. who stripped out references to al qaeda and why? republicans call it a political decision. a fear of stepping on the president's campaign message that he crippled al qaeda. >> we want to find out who made

this decision, who made the decision to change talking points in a way that caused the american people to be lied to. >> reporter: then there is the military response. hicks will say military personnel were ready to board a libyan plane to benghazi to help americans under fire there, but were ordered by superiors not to go. >> they may not have arrived in time to save lives, but at the time the decision was made, the decision was wrong. >> reporter: who made that decision? >> we want to find out who made this decision. >> reporter: democrats warn it will be a partisan show. >> we have been iced out. >> reporter: the committee's top democrat complains republicans won't let them talk to one of the whistle-blower witnesses, a counterterrorism official. elijah cummings called that unprecedented. >> everything that i've seen so far with regard to this investigation shows me that it is a one-sided investigation, and it leaves me sad, really. i just know that we're better than that. >> reporter: the committee's top democrat insists he, too, was interested in getting answers to

what happened and why in benghazi. but the partisan way republicans are handling it, quote, makes the work product of the committee questionable. a gop source countered that if democrats were so hungry for the fact, they would have joined republicans in pressing the state department to hand over key documents and information that congress is having trouble getting. dana bash, cnn, washington. 39 minutes after the hour right now. friends and family saying good-bye to 8-year-old leila fowler. an overflow crowd turned out for leila's funeral yesterday. she was laid to rest following a private service. this as the search for her killer continues. yesterday police dive teams went searching for clues in a pair of ponds near the girl's home in valley springs, california. former nba star dennis rodman calling on north korean leader kim jong-un to release u.s. citizen kenneth bae. bae's been sentenced to 15 years hard labor for what he calls -- or for what the north calls hostile acts. rodman, who visited north korea in february and calls kim a friend for life tweeted this.

i'm calling on the supreme leader of north korea, or as i call him, kim, to do me a solid and cut kenneth bae loose. again, that from dennis rodman. 39 minutes after the hour. you won't have those loops on your money after all. thanks to a new look for treasury secretary's jack lew's signature. recent documents show that lew's handwriting has changed from the loopy set of unrecognizable scribbling on the right to the more legible signature on the left. now, it does seem that lew was changing his signature a little bit to get ready for putting the mark on all u.s. currency. which is about to be printed here in the u.s. also, president obama made fun of him mercilessly for the signature. former treasury secretary timothy geithner had a similar change in his signature before currency went out with his name on it. coming up, the man many credit with helping save the lives of those three women in cleveland speaks exclusively to cnn. hear charles ramsey's incredible story right after this. when our little girl was born,

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>> > welcome back to "early start," i'm zoraida sambolin. i am live in cleveland, ohio. if not for the actions of charles ramsey, the three women held captive in the city may never have escaped. here's more of anderson cooper's exclusive interview with charles ramsey. >> so you call 911. how soon did the police get there? >> you know they got there so fast because of that moron. because i said, hey, amanda berry is right in front of me right now. yeah, what she got on?

and i told them, white tank top, blue sweat pants, nice tennis shoes. ponytail. what else? oh, right. she panicking, id contract. like i said, amanda berry. that don't ring no damn bell you being a cop and all? >> when you first saw her and she said the name amanda berry -- >> it didn't -- no. bro, this is cleveland. said they haven't found that girl and stop looking for that girl, we figure that girl met her demise. >> right. >> so berry didn't register with me until i was on the phone like, wait a minute, i thought this girl was dead. >> what does it feel like to have been living next to this for a year? >> see that's why now i'm having trouble sleeping. see, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. you hear what i'm saying?

>> mm-hmm. >> so now that that's going on, and i could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing. >> do you feel like a hero? >> no. no, no, no, no. bro, i'm a christian and american. and just like you, bleed the same blood, put our pants on the same way. it's just that you got put that being a coward, and i don't want to get in nobody's business, you got to put that away for a minute. >> you know how it is. a lot of people turn the other way. >> pass the homeless. that's all it's about, it's about the homeless on this planet. >> has like the fbi said anything about a reward or anything? because there was a reward for finding her. >> i tell you what you do, give it to them? because if folks were following this case, since last night, you've been following me since last night, you know i got a job anyway.

just want to pick it up. paychecks. what is that going to say? >> i don't have my glasses. >> where them girls are living, right next door to this paycheck. so here take that reward, and, and give it to them. that little girl came out of the house, and she was crying. and i was looking at her right like i was like, well your momma trying to help you girl, shut up. i don't know that. she's like i want my daddy. who's her daddy? she said ariel. >> she said that? >> yeah. i said how that possible? you got kidnapped -- oh, he was having sex with you, oh, jesus -- that little girl is his. now who want to hurt you. >> you felt that? >> brother, this would be a different interview, i told you that. if we had known that. man i'd be facing triple life. >> wow. i'm glad it turned out this way. >> what a great storyteller.

so we have an interesting development for charles ramsey this morning. mcdonald's has reached out to him on twitter, writing this. we salute the courage of ohio kidnap victims and respect their privacy. way to go charles ramsey. we'll be in touch. and john, if you recall, we're not playing that 911 tape right now, but in that 911 tape what he says is, check this out, i just came from mcdonald's right, i'm on my porch eating my little food and then you know he goes to tell the dispatcher what's going on, and you know these girls' lives basically are saved. that moment and the fact that he continuously mentioned mcdonald's, they have now reached out to him. >> said he was eating his mcdonald's, and now mcdonald's giving him the shout-out. how awesome is that. thanks, zoraida. up next, chris christie's weight loss surgery. is this a sign of presidential ambitions for 2016? we'll talk about that right after the break.

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. welcome back to "early start," everyone. about 52 minutes after the hour right now. here are your top stories. still no solution to the problem of what to do with the remains of boston bomber tamerlan tsarnaev. no cemetery in massachusetts has offered to accept his body for burial. tsarnaev's uncle is asking the government to intervene now to help him find a final resting place. delaware now the 11th state to approve same-sex marriage. democratic governor jack markell signing the measure into law shortly after the state senate approved it. gay rights activists hailed the law's passage saying it represents momentum for supporters of marriage equality laws across the entire nation. take a look at your screen right now. incredible video last night, just awful. that's toronto blue jays pitcher j.a. happ.

he somehow was not seriously hurt after being struck in the head by a line drive in a game against the tampa bay rays last night. happ was taken off the field on stretcher. but he was conscious when he was taken to a local hospital. he is said to be in stable condition this morning. that is excellent news. new jersey governor chris christie had a secret. but it was not weighing him down. he had gastric lap band surgery back in february to help him lose weight, but he's only now publicly revealing it. was it for the sake of his political future or something else? mary snow takes a look. >> reporter: for 12 weeks new jersey governor chris christie kept his weight loss surgery a secret, and says it wasn't done to advance his political career. >> the steps i've taken recently are for me and for mary pat, and the kids. and you know, if asked about it, i would have never lied about it. but, you know, it's not anybody else's business but mine. >> reporter: speaking at a news conference in newark on tuesday,

he says having gastric lap band surgery in february was not an easy decision. >> it's pretty hard. i mean, you know, surgery is surgery. and you never want to approach that lightly. and i certainly didn't. but on the other hand, it was something that i felt like i needed to do. >> reporter: the surgery was done shortly after a public furor about his weight, which started with a joke on the "david letterman show." >> basically the healthiest fat guy you've ever seen in your life. >> reporter: after that appearance, a former white house physician told cnn she was concerned about christie's ability to run for president. >> i worry that he may have a heart attack, he may have a stroke. it's almost like a time bomb waiting to happen. >> reporter: christie fired back, calling her a hack. >> if she wants to examine me and refute my medical history, i'll have a conversation with her about that. until that time she should shut up. >> reporter: the decision to have surgery had been made months before that furor. christie says it was scheduled for november, but scrapped because of superstorm sandy.

he turned 50 in september, and says his age and family were the deciding factors, not his political future. but that's not quieting speculation about a potential white house run. especially since his weight did play a factor when he ran for governor in 2009. patrick murray is a new jersey pollster. >> with 2016 looming on the horizon i think that gave that extra push to say look, i don't want to give anybody a reason to think ill of me, to not consider voting for me just because of the way that i look physically. >> reporter: now it will be christie's political ambitions and his waistline that will be closely watched. mary snow, cnn, newark, new jersey. >> and we wish the governor the best. that is all for "early start." i'm john berman. "starting point" begins right after the break. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation.

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good morning, everyone. i'm john berman live in new york. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin live in cleveland. our "starting point" this morning, we are learning more about the nightmare that the three women lived through while held in captivity for ten years. but there are still so many questions about what actually happened, and the three men that are now in custody. we are live in cleveland with all of the developments for you. then the hero neighbor recounts the heart-pounding moments of the rescue. >> i'm trying to get the door open and can't. because torture chamber it some kind of way and locked it up.

why he says he is not a hero. a special edition of "starting point" begins right now. welcome to a special edition of "starting point," we are live from cleveland for you. i'm going to step out of the way, ask the camera to take a look at the house here on seymour street where these girls were held for ten years in captivity. just yesterday when we were here you could see that there were two flags that were hanging there on the porch. one was the american flag and the other one was a flag from puerto rico. i understand from one of the photographers here that yesterday they were taking down the american flag and they were going to walk away and leave the puerto rican flag there on the porch when the crowds erupted. they wanted that flag taken down, as well. and this morning we're here, this investigation still under way. we still don't have charges. but we are waiting that today. we understand that after 48 hours we should be hearing someth